Wingate to expand; partnership a 'touchdown' for localities

Published: Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 6:23 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 6:23 p.m.

City and county officials are expected to announce a joint partnership Friday that will allow Wingate University to move from its cramped lease on Fifth Avenue East to a new 50,000-square-foot facility close to Pardee Hospital.

Details of the agreement will be disclosed during a special-called joint meeting of the Hendersonville City Council and the Henderson County Board of Commissioners Friday at 10 a.m. in the Historic Courthouse.

During the meeting, County Manager Steve Wyatt anticipates that “the board will make a commitment, I believe, to all aspects of 'Project Touchdown,' which is a complex, very forward-thinking project. While I can't go into details at this time, I'll say the project will have an effect on the community that is far-reaching, significant and prolonged.”

Wyatt said the project involves “a joint partnership,” and elected officials confirmed this week that “Project Touchdown” involves a cooperative effort between the city, county, Pardee Hospital and others to ensure that Wingate University can grow its physical and educational footprint in Henderson County.

Jerry McGee, president of Wingate University, told commissioners in November that the school ran out of room at its initial 11,000-square-foot facility on Fifth Avenue East, forcing officials to lease another 2,000 square feet across the street at HomeTrust Bank for a new physician assistant program it added in 2013.

Wingate opened its Hendersonville campus in 2011, first offering a Master in Business Administration program with part-time evening classes geared toward working professionals. That was followed a few months later by its School of Pharmacy, which offers a doctorate.

With enrollment projected to jump from 80 students in 2013 to 127 by 2015, McGee told commissioners the university needs between 25,000 and 30,000 square feet of space to accommodate future growth, including a physical therapy program it anticipates adding by 2016.

Ideally, McGee said the school would like to relocate to a “Wingate-dedicated, state-of-the-art, high-tech facility which would take care of our current and future needs.”

He said the university was looking at several options for a facility that would focus heavily on health science education – including perhaps a nursing program – as well as the potential to offer teachers the chance to seek advanced degrees in school administration.

By a 5-0 vote, commissioners instructed staff to work on locating a suitable facility for Wingate, perhaps on the Flat Rock campus of Blue Ridge Community College. McGee said partnering with BRCC would allow students to go from an associates degree to a masters or doctorate, without leaving the county.

But county officials later approached the city on behalf of Wingate seeking to site the new facility closer to Pardee Hospital, according to city sources close to the negotiations.

Wingate's pharmacy and PA students do clinicals for four years in partnership with Pardee, Park Ridge Health and the Veteran Affairs Hospital in Asheville.

The city has optioned a piece of property at 747 6th Ave. W., next to Pardee and across from the YMCA, that is large enough to accommodate both Wingate's growth and BRCC's nursing program, sources said. It is currently owned by “Jesse McCall and wife,” according to county tax records.

The new facility will be “a full-fledged medical school, with the exception of doctors,” said a county commissioner who did not want to be named. He said Wingate will offer advanced degrees in nursing and radiology training in addition to its current PA, pharmacy and MBA programs.

“The big deal is that a student here can go to Blue Ridge and get their primary education and then come over to Wingate and get a medical degree and they can still live at home,” said the commissioner. “That cuts the cost of education dramatically because they can live at home.”

During a budget work session in January, Wyatt told commissioners the county will retire about $923,463 in debt in fiscal year 2015 and another $474,181 will drop off in 2016, easily giving them the ability to take on $10.6 million in capital projects in 2014-15.

Over the next five years, Wyatt said then, commissioners have the ability to finance between $42 million and $50 million worth of capital projects as more debt is retired, given the favorable interest rates currently available to them.

Wingate's new facility was cited by commissioners as a top priority for financing as part of a capital projects package that will likely include public school expansions and additional space for the county's rescue squad and EMS.

<p>City and county officials are expected to announce a joint partnership Friday that will allow Wingate University to move from its cramped lease on Fifth Avenue East to a new 50,000-square-foot facility close to Pardee Hospital.</p><p>Details of the agreement will be disclosed during a special-called joint meeting of the Hendersonville City Council and the Henderson County Board of Commissioners Friday at 10 a.m. in the Historic Courthouse. </p><p>During the meeting, County Manager Steve Wyatt anticipates that “the board will make a commitment, I believe, to all aspects of 'Project Touchdown,' which is a complex, very forward-thinking project. While I can't go into details at this time, I'll say the project will have an effect on the community that is far-reaching, significant and prolonged.”</p><p>Wyatt said the project involves “a joint partnership,” and elected officials confirmed this week that “Project Touchdown” involves a cooperative effort between the city, county, Pardee Hospital and others to ensure that Wingate University can grow its physical and educational footprint in Henderson County.</p><p>Jerry McGee, president of Wingate University, told commissioners in November that the school ran out of room at its initial 11,000-square-foot facility on Fifth Avenue East, forcing officials to lease another 2,000 square feet across the street at HomeTrust Bank for a new physician assistant program it added in 2013.</p><p>Wingate opened its Hendersonville campus in 2011, first offering a Master in Business Administration program with part-time evening classes geared toward working professionals. That was followed a few months later by its School of Pharmacy, which offers a doctorate.</p><p>With enrollment projected to jump from 80 students in 2013 to 127 by 2015, McGee told commissioners the university needs between 25,000 and 30,000 square feet of space to accommodate future growth, including a physical therapy program it anticipates adding by 2016.</p><p>Ideally, McGee said the school would like to relocate to a “Wingate-dedicated, state-of-the-art, high-tech facility which would take care of our current and future needs.”</p><p>He said the university was looking at several options for a facility that would focus heavily on health science education – including perhaps a nursing program – as well as the potential to offer teachers the chance to seek advanced degrees in school administration.</p><p>By a 5-0 vote, commissioners instructed staff to work on locating a suitable facility for Wingate, perhaps on the Flat Rock campus of Blue Ridge Community College. McGee said partnering with BRCC would allow students to go from an associates degree to a masters or doctorate, without leaving the county.</p><p>But county officials later approached the city on behalf of Wingate seeking to site the new facility closer to Pardee Hospital, according to city sources close to the negotiations.</p><p>Wingate's pharmacy and PA students do clinicals for four years in partnership with Pardee, Park Ridge Health and the Veteran Affairs Hospital in Asheville.</p><p>The city has optioned a piece of property at 747 6th Ave. W., next to Pardee and across from the YMCA, that is large enough to accommodate both Wingate's growth and BRCC's nursing program, sources said. It is currently owned by “Jesse McCall and wife,” according to county tax records.</p><p>The new facility will be “a full-fledged medical school, with the exception of doctors,” said a county commissioner who did not want to be named. He said Wingate will offer advanced degrees in nursing and radiology training in addition to its current PA, pharmacy and MBA programs.</p><p>“The big deal is that a student here can go to Blue Ridge and get their primary education and then come over to Wingate and get a medical degree and they can still live at home,” said the commissioner. “That cuts the cost of education dramatically because they can live at home.”</p><p>During a budget work session in January, Wyatt told commissioners the county will retire about $923,463 in debt in fiscal year 2015 and another $474,181 will drop off in 2016, easily giving them the ability to take on $10.6 million in capital projects in 2014-15.</p><p>Over the next five years, Wyatt said then, commissioners have the ability to finance between $42 million and $50 million worth of capital projects as more debt is retired, given the favorable interest rates currently available to them.</p><p>Wingate's new facility was cited by commissioners as a top priority for financing as part of a capital projects package that will likely include public school expansions and additional space for the county's rescue squad and EMS.</p>